Passenger From Tuesday's Police Chase Car Accident Pronounced Dead

The 22-year-old man riding in a car that was trying to escape from early Tuesday morning has been pronounced dead, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Ricky Nelson, of St. Louis, was a passenger of a stolen car that crashed as it was fleeing Hazelwood police, the report said. Three others were injured in the accident.

The driver of the stolen car, Reno Whitt, 21, of St. Louis, and two other passengers now face criminal charges.

The near the campus when the car ran into a utility pole. 

From the Post-Dispatch: 

Police said the suspects fled after striking an officer's squad car at the Knollwood apartment complex in the 5400 block of Knoll Creek Drive, where officers were checking on a report of car break-ins.

Hazelwood Acting Police Chief Gregg Hall said that a Hazelwood officer saw the fleeing car pass him in the opposite lanes on McDonnell Boulevard and turned around to follow it. 

The suspect's car crashed less than a minute later, Hall said. He believes the officer followed the department's chase policy, which allows officers to pursue fleeing vehicles when the risk of letting them escape outweighs the risk of trying to stop them.